Galapagos Island Volcano Erupts, Threatening Fragile Ecosystem

A volcano atop one of the Galapagos Islands has erupted for the first time in 33 years, spewing fire, smoke and lava into the night sky – and threatening a fragile ecosystem that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Ecuador's Galapagos National Park administration said the mile-high Wolf volcano erupted before dawn Monday. The eruption could be seen for miles.

The volcano lies on the northern tip of Isabela Island, the archipelago's largest.

Authorities said no tourist activity was affected – and for now, lava flowing in the southwest direction poses no risk to the world's only population of pink iguanas, which live on the island's northwest tip.

Darwin visited the eastern Pacific island chain in 1835, and the trip influenced his findings presented in the book “The origin of Species.”